It was early August of last year when we learned that a Catholic parish in Wisconsin held an annual event in which individual pigs were abused by groups of people in a mud pit as a fundraiser. It was called the St. Patrick Parish Pig Rassle.

One of the many pigs that were abused at the "pig rassle"

An organization called Global Conservation Group had sent out an alert. We asked if they would like assistance and they said yes. On August 10, 2014, SHARK surrounded the mud pit with five cameras, catching every angle of the abuse. It was a hot day, but we spent hours in that disgusting environment, filled with disgusting people, and filmed every single pig - some three dozen of them.

SHARK president Steve Hindi offers $10,000 of his own money for the Catholic Church to replace the pigs with church officials and Green Bay Bishop David Ricken.

The pig abusers thought it was over at the end of the day, but we were just getting warmed up. In the months that followed, we posted a half dozen videos on YouTube that gathered almost a quarter million views! I personally went to the Green Bay Diocese and offered Bishop David Ricken $10,000 for the church if the pigs were replaced by church officials - including Bishop Ricken. Global Conservation Group held a number of protests in Green Bay to keep the pressure on locally.

Our first video exposing the abuse went viral and has been seen more than 130,000 times

The following is the key portion of the statement on St. Patrick Parish’s website:

After much prayer and many hours of discussion, we realize that what we had for 44 years in the Original Pig Rassle was memorable, legal and great family fun. We also realize that our parish and diocesan talents could be better spent in areas that are less controversial. It is with great regret that we have discontinued the Original Pig Rassle, we are however, very excited to begin this new tradition at St. Patrick Parish.

Due to the church’s refusal to acknowledge the cruelty of this spectacle, the continued insistence that the abuse was legal, and the “regret” over its cancellation, we cannot suggest that you thank the church, but that is up to you. As we see it, the only thing that stopped the continuation of this cruelty was hard-hitting activism, first from our cameras, and then from you and others by way of protesting.

We’re very pleased that this event has been halted, but there are many other cruel and idiotic events like this in other parts of Wisconsin and throughout the country. SHARK will continue to expose these abuses. I hope you will continue to support our efforts with your most generous donations, because we cannot pursue, expose and stop this cruelty without you.

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